The Marriott Courtyard in Bentonville, Arkansas is currently offering a ‘mules stay free’ rate of $79 per night, and it’s being promoted by the mayor of nearby Pea Ridge.
$79.00 for vendors, participants and spectators. Rates are available for Thursday – Saturday night. Call the front desk 479-273-3333 and ask for the Mule Jump Special! And don’t forget … Mules stay free!!
Credit: Marriott Courtyard, Bentonville
This $79 rate is only available over the weekend of October 9, the weekend of the Mule Jump. But when have you ever been able to bring a mule to a hotel before? A giraffe, sure, but not a mule.
According to the Mayor of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, there will be “40+ mules participating [in the town’s jump festival] this year, [so] there will be a full slate of mules for the competition for more than $4,000 in prize money.” And why is this so exciting?
Realize, too, that mules do not like to jump! That fact alone creates an atmosphere ripe with laughter as the handlers work to coax their mules over the burlap barriers, some as high as 6 ½ feet!
You might think, why would I ever fly into Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA)? Why would I ever need to stay in Bentonville, Arkansas? Simple. It’s the world headquarters of Walmart – which has over 10,000 locations, over 500 billion in revenue, and over 2.2 million employees. And because of Mule Jump.
This may not be a deal that most readers will take advantage of, but there’s a reasonable chance some business travel will be back in the fall and readers may make it to Bentonville. So in case you’re traveling there in early October and will have a mule with you this seemed like an offer worth flagging.
Does the mule get Bonvoy elite status benefits?
Arkansas may be nice but nothing comes close to Mianus.
That’s all well and good for the mule, but what about the 40 acres part of the deal?
Do drug mules qualify for this promotion?
@Nick, let’s not get carried away here… still working on getting those consistently honored for elite-status humans! (To be fair, lower-level hotels like Courtyards do tend to be better about that.)
Though you might be able to work it the other way around so your elite status benefits (F&B credit in particular) get you a mule…at the bar, that is!
Now, what airlines will let me bring my emotional support mule onboard?
Bentonville also has an interesting museum, Crystal Bridges, funded by a Walmart heiress with perhaps a bit more money than sense (she paid millions for a big pile of candy that’s spread out on the floor, and for a plain canvas painted grey as a tribute to minimalism) – she’s a caricature of the billionaire leftist type who can advocate for all sorts of inane policies knowing her inherited money, privilege and connections will shield her from the inevitable effects (and her accountants will keep her tax bills low, through tax shelters like extravagant art collections). CB has become hyper-political and especially likes to hate on capitalism, which is breathtaking performance art in and of itself, but it’s worth at least one visit if you’re in the area.
If you’re down the road in Fayetteville between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Lights of the Ozarks on the Fayetteville Square is amazing, and thus far apolitical (I keep waiting for them to take the toy soldiers’ guns away but so far the boys are still armed).
“You might think, why would I ever fly into Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA)? Why would I ever need to stay in Bentonville, Arkansas?”
Because it’s a gorgeous area. Mountains, wildflowers, great hiking, affordable prices, terrific state parks, friendly people, day trips to places like Eureka Springs, sites like chapels where the walls are glass, and a gateway to the Ozarks. I took a two-week Covid-cation there because it was a great place to travel and be alone at the same time. I didn’t get bored a single day. People underestimate places like Arkansas. I admit the mules are a new one, though 🙂
Sexism at its worst! What about Hinnys staying free? A Mule is the offspring of a male donkey (jack) + a female horse, while a hinny is the offspring of a a female donkey (jenny) + a male horse. The Party of the Jackass should be all over this blatant discrimination! Actually been over to Pea Ridge as a famous Texas Ranger, (Brigadier General) Ben McCulloch (born in Tennessee), died in the Civil War battlefield nearby.
“You might think, why would I ever fly into Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA)? Why would I ever need to stay in Bentonville, Arkansas?”
Other than for business reasons, I doubt many people fly into XNA just to stay in Bentonville but XNA is a great place to fly into for the outdoors adventure types. To the east of us, the Ozarks are beautiful and offer great cycling, hikes, kayaking, camping, rock climbing, fishing, and so many other activities. The Buffalo National River is stunningly beautiful and a great place to camp, canoe, kayak, and swim. There are dozens of beautiful waterfalls in the Arkansas Ozarks as well as cave systems, Blanchard Springs is one of the nicest. We are the closest airport (other than Branson). Eureka Springs is an old bath town and worth a short visit.
In Bentonville Crystal Bridges is worth a visit, even if you don’t particularly love art, she bought up many of our countries early paintings and caused an uproar in the art world when so many paintings of George Washington and others of historical significance were moved to Arkansas. It is nice to stand in front of the original paintings that you have seen in history books and know so well. Last I knew it is free to see their permanent collection. They also have concerts in the woods surrounding Crystal Bridges. The AMP theatre is also a major outdoor concert venue, so I suspect that some people fly in for that reason.
Venturing south of Bentonville, Fayetteville is a nice town to visit for a day or two. The downtown square is beautiful at Christmas and most people love to go to Dixon street. The area is now full of microbreweries (Bentonville, Rogers, and Fayetteville), so there is that. Further south Devil’s Den State Park is nice and White Rock Mountain is an adventure all to itself.
The mules stay free gimic will be a kick for those participating and coming to see the event and probably not bring the type of attention that Bentonville would like to have.
There haven’t been many mules at the hotel but plenty of jackasses
@AlohaDaveKennedy
As a complete “Chump Jackass” you should know!